Jorge Hinojosa
A MAN died after he was washed out of his home by floods that hit the Spanish region of Murcia.
The body of the 60-year-old man identified as Antonio was found floating in water 300 metres from his home in Javali Viejo.
A neighbour confirmed to the Olive Press that Antonio had been asleep on his sofa when flood water poured into his house and swept him away at around 2am.
One businesswoman who owns a hairdresser close to where the man lived told the Olive Pres: “Neighbors in could hear the man shouting for help, but unfortunately, they could not do anything because of the strength and depth of the water.”
Antonio was divorced, and used to sleep in a care home from Monday to Friday, but at weekends stayed at home in Javali Viejo.
Murcia’s firefighters said that they had rescued several people from their homes in the same area.
Spain’s meteorological service AEMET said that 40.6 mm of rain fell in only 10 minutes – which is a record since measurements began.
Murcia’s Mayor, Jose Antonio Serrano, expressed his condolences on Twitter, saying: “Last night a heavy storm caused serious problems in the municipality. Unfortunately, we have to mourn the death of a person. I would like to express my deepest condolences. The municipal service is working hard to restore normality as soon as possible.”
The 112 emergency line received a total of 293 calls related to the storms, rain and floods across 19 municipalities including 77 in Cartegena, 72 in Murcia City, seven in San Javier, 12 in La Union and seven in Alcantarilla.
In some streets cars were swept away and left piled on each other before the floods subsided.
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